Method of treating oil



METHOD OF TREATING OIL Filed Jan. 25, 1922 Patented dan. 13, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER H. RAUL, E MEXIA, TEXAS.

METHOD 0E TREATING oIL.

Application led January 25, 1922. Serial No. 531,690.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER H. KAUL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mexia, in the county of Limestone and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Treating Oil, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the treatment of oil and more particularly to the treatment of crude oil or petroleum to separate water therefrom.

The invention has for its main object the provision of an improved method of treating crude oil or petroleum prior to the distilla\ btion thereof whereby the oil is thoroughly,

' efficiently and economically dehydrated.

Another object relates to 'the deliydrating of such crude oil ina continuous manner so that the movement ofthe crude oil throu h the treating apparatus and into the still may take place without interruption.

Another feature of the invention relates to the employment of molasses as the dehydrating agent, which material is relatively cheap and easily obtainable in districts near many of the producing oil fields.

Other objects will appear from the following description of the invention taken in connection with the drawing, in which the ligure is a diagrammatic view showing one form of apparatus suitable for carrying out my process.

Certain kinds of crude oil, particularly those produced in the Gulf States and known as roily7 oils, are mixed with a relatively high percentage of water in a more or less emulsilied state, and it is exceedingly diiricult and expensive to separate this water from the oil in order to render the oil commercially valuable. Permitting the mixture to stand or merely boiling it in the usual manner even for extended periods has little or no eiect, while the only effective method of separation which has been developed, so far as I am aware, necessitates the use of relatively large quant-ities of an expensive chemical which of course adds to the final cost. Y On the other hand, I have found that by introducing relatively small quantities of a comparatively cheap and readily obtainable substance, such as molasses, having a high afnity for. the water in the mixture, prior y to the heating of the same, I am enabled to secure substantially complete separation of the oil and water, thereby effecting avgreat saving over the said prior process.

Referring to the said drawing, the crude oil i`s led from a tank 1,which is preferably formed of'sheet meta-l plates suitably riveted or welded together to be liquid tight by means of a pipe 2 provided with a controlling valve -3 to the suction side of a steam or other pump 4. Means are provided for. injecting into the saidY pipe 2 a supply of deliydrating agent, comprising .an inlet pipe 5 leading from a Storage tank or reservoir 6 containing molasses, glucose, glycerlne, or-

other suitable substance possessing a relatively high aflinity for Water, and havinga specific gravity greater than water. A

valve 7 controls the supply of the said Adehy- Q drating agent.

Leading from the discharge side of the pump t is a pipe 8 controlled by a valve 9, and provided at 10 with a suitable reducing connection adapted to produce an intimate mixture of the molasses or other dehydrating agent, with the emulsified oil and water. A smaller pipe l1 leads from the said reducer l0 to the interior of the first of a ser-ies of heater heads 12, which comprise sections of pipe suitably closed at their ends and connected together as by' the connections 13.

l Suitable heating elements, such for example,

as the steam pipes 14 -pass throughone of the closed ends of each of the said heads 12,

and are adapted to control the temperature within the said heads.`

The last of the said heads12-iseonnect ed with a second tank l'slpreferably formed'. of steel plates suitablyiriveted orf5welded together to be liquid tight'an'd hliilving posi` tioned therein a heaterfelement--.`16v for heating the contents ofthe tank( Mounted in the tank 15 is a filter element comprising a mass of excelsior 17 suitably retained in position as for example, by means of a pair of perforated members 18 secured to the walls ofthe tank. An outlet 19. is provided for discharging the oil, the 'viscosity of which is such as to permit'it to pass through the filter. Leading from a lower portion of r pipe 25, controlled by a valve from the tank 1 the tank 15 below the filter and controlled by a valve 20 is a water outlet pipe 21 which may empty into a waste pipe or any convenient sewer. Substantially all of the molasses and water is stopped by the filter 17 and is collected in the lowerv portion of the tank 15, from which it is drawn oli through the said pipe 21 and discharged into the said sewer.

The pipe 19 leads from the said tank 15 either to the distilling apparatus direct, or to an intermediate storage tank 24, as may be desired, iks shown, an intermediate tank is provided, which may be made of steel plates or the like, suitably welded or riveted together to be liquid tight. From a lower portion of the tank y24, a discharge 26, leads into any convenient waste pi e or sewer, While froman upper portion o the tank 24 apipe 27, controlled by a valve 28, leads to the distilling apparatus of an oil reinery.

Th levels of the respective tanks are preferably so adjusted that the contents of the tank 1 discharges to the pump 4 by gravity, and the upperportion of the tank 15 discharges into thetank 24 by gravity, while the tank 24 discharges through/the pipe 27 into the still by gravity.

In operation, the roily crude oil is led through the pipe 2 to the suction side of the pump 4, andmolasses of the kind known as black strap isrsupplied theretothrough the pipe 5. The valves 3 and 7 may be employed for properly proportioning the quantity of molasses or other dehydrating agent relative to the quantity of the oil. From the said pump the mixture is forced through'the pipe 8 past the reducer 10 and into the heating heads 12 where its temperature is raised by means of the heater elements 14. Molasses, glucose, iiglllycerine, and the like, possess a strong a ity for water and have substantially no anity for oil, so that when the mixture is introduced into the tank 15 by means of the connecting passage 30, the molasses or other agent ,has absorbed and carries with it substantially all the water which was contained in the crude oil. Heat is applied to the contents of the tank 15 by means of the heater element 16. The filter formed of the excelsior 17 clarifies the mixture by holding back the mixture of molasses and water, while the oil passes through the said yiilter and is discharged out of the pipe 19 into the storage `tank 24. Here any water that was carried out through the passage 19 by incomplete separation in the tank 15 will settle to the bottom, due to the fact that the specific gravity of the water has been raised by its mixture with the molasses, drawn off through the discharge outlet 25. The oil having a relatively lower specic gravity remains on top and is drawnott' and may be separately through the pipe 27. The relay tive proportions of the molasses and oil will vary somewhat, depending upon the amount of water contained in the roily oil, and its state of emulsication, which may be readily determined by 'an experienced oil man. However, an example of the relative proportions actually employed in one instance,

where the oil was not badly oft' color due to emu-lsified water and other impurities, was from six to seven gallons of molasses to each thousand barrels of oil. This produced an oil containing less than two er cent ot Water; but it will be understoo that these proportions must be varied to suit dilerent.

kinds of oil, increasing the quantity of molasses as the quantity of emulsified water and other limpurities contained in the oil increases.

The heat supplied by the heating ipes 14, and theA coil 16, may ordinarily be within the limits obtainable by steam at atmospheric pressure; however, in extreme cases, super-heated steam' may be employed for raising the temperature to say 350 degrees F.

Since the black strap molasses is an exceed! ingly viscous liquid', in some instances it may be desirable to thin it somewhat before introducing it into the oil mixture, and this may be' accomplished -by merely adding water thereto while it is in the storage chamber or reservoir 6. Good results have been obtained when employing molasses which'has been thinned lin the proportions of say 4,5- gallons of molasses and 100 barrels of water. f

Apparatus of preferred form and con'- struction has been illustrated and the preerred steps constituting the method described or the purpose of showing a way n which this invention maybe practiced, but the inventive'y thought upon which this -application is based is broader than this illustrative embodiment.

vunderstood that. the scope of the invention It is therefore mate contact with molasses; and separating the oil Jfrom the remaining parts of the mix- I ture prior to distillation.

2. The method of dehydrating crude oil vwhich consists of bringing molasses into intimate contact therewith, applying heat to the mixture', iiltering the mixture, and

settling the molasses and water outof the A mixture.

3. The method of dehydrating roily oil which consists of applying molasses thereto under heat, and filtering the mixture.

4. rlhe method of dehydratixig roily oil 1,523,219 s f I 8 which consists of applying molasses thereto elevated temperature to separate said oil under heat, and iltering and settling out from said molasses and Water; and settling 10 foreign substances from the oil. the filtrate, to separate any molasses and 5. The method of dehydrating roily crude Water which may have passed through the 5 oil which consists in intimately mechani-- filter.

cally mixing molasses with said oil; raising In testimony whereof I afixI my signathe temperature of said mixture; Iiltering ture. the mixture While maintaining it at said WALTER H. KAUL. 

